Volunteer Spotlight

Published Sunday, January 09, 2005

Cathy Brown, volunteer director, knows of several areas in the community which need volunteers. For information about the Volunteer Center of St. Johns County, call Brown at 827-1917 or e-mail her at ckbrown@aug.com.

Volunteer crew leaders are needed on Fridays and Saturdays by Habitat for Humanity for framing, roofing, siding, painting or trim carpentry. Construction knowledge is helpful, but training will be available. Call 826-3252.

The Friends of the Huguenot Cemetery need volunteer guides and cemetery workers. The group is responsible for the care, maintenance and availability of the cemetery, which is located between the Visitor Information Center and the city gate. Call Don and Isabel Nealon at 824-1877 or send an e-mail to echoes@aug.com.

The Homeless Coalition needs tutors for its after-school program for homeless children and those at risk of homelessness.Volunteers are needed from 3 to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Help is also needed to make sandwiches and prepare snacks for the children.

Call Laurie or Rob at 819-0059.

St. Johns Vision is looking for a several volunteers to handle administrative and marketing/community relations efforts.

Administrative volunteers should be proficient in Word and Excel, be detail-oriented, and have good organizational skills. Other volunteers are needed to help write press releases and design print materials. For information, call 819-3544.

St. Francis House is recruiting volunteers to help with many aspects of the soup kitchen. Cooks, kitchen helpers and drivers are needed any day between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Drivers and officer helpers are needed at various times and days.

Any civic or church group, office or family who can cook and serve the evening meal to our residents should call to schedule a day and time. If you would like to work behind the scenes, we have many opportunities from committees, to fund raising, to business management available on your schedule. Contact St. Francis House at 829-8937 to discuss your Volunteering Opportunity.

St. Francis House is also recruiting volunteers to help with many aspects of the Migrant Farm Worker Feeding Program which runs from November through May. If you can make a sandwich or drive our van WE NEED YOU. Contact St. Francis House at 829-8937 to discuss your Volunteering Opportunity.

Meals on Wheels needs help. Can you make time in your schedule to help bring a nutritious lunch to a home-bound elder? Just 11/2 hours a week can make all the difference to someone in need. To learn more, call Kay Green, Council on Aging, 823-4820.

Cathedral Tour guides are needed.

As a guide, participants have an opportunity to learn of the rich religious and local history of the Catholic church and the historic structure.

Call the rectory for information: 824-2806 or 824-2807.

Can you help cheer lonely elders? Buckingham Smith Assisted Living which has 33 residents, is looking for interested volunteers to help with activities, crafts, exercise, gardening --just helping make life better for the residents.

If you have time to share, call Mary Canestorp at 829-9315.

Alpha-Omega Miracle Home is looking for volunteers for baby care. The facility is also in need of volunteers to assist in the Pregnancy Care Center. For information, call Paula O'Connor at (904) 794-1488

The St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum offers a wide variety of volunteer opportunities for all ages.

At the castillo, contact Joe Mills at 829-6506 ext. 233 if you can help as an entrance greeter or with printing and folding brochures.

Specialty skills, such as metal work, woodwork, landscaping, and computer skills are also needed. If you can help here, contact Dean Garrison at 829-6506 ext. 228.

Volunteers are needed in the Spanish Quarter Museum. Interested persons are invited to join trained professional museum guides as they showcase the lifestyle of 1740 Colonial St. Augustine in an open air living history museum.

Call 825-6830.

The Therapeutic Foster Parent Program of the St. Augustine Youth Services needs volunteers for the program. Anyone who would like to participate is invited to call 829-1770 for information.

The Cottage, a thrift shop benefiting the programs of the Council on Aging, needs volunteers Wednesdays through Saturdays. All shifts are available.

The Cottage is located at 15 Old Mission Ave., and donations of household goods are most welcome. To help out, call Ray Franklin at 823-4801.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida is seeking Volunteer Wish Granters. Responsibilities include being properly trained, visiting with the children and their families to gather information to grant their wishes, and to maintain contact with the family up to the Wish Granting date. They are also looking for volunteers to assist with fundraising, day-of-the-event activities and special event committees. Trainings will be held 6-25-04 in Duval County. For more information or to register for a training class, please contact Richard Jason Bock at (888) 874-9474 x201 or e-mail at rjbock@wishcentral.org or visit the Web site at www.wish.org.